Dan Hardy suggests Jake Paul makes his MMA debut against a notable name that will stand with him.
Paul signed a multifight contract with PFL and is expected to compete in a new Super Fight division with events on pay-per-view. Paul, who boxes Tommy Fury on Feb. 26 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, dubbed Mike Perry as the replacement fighter if Fury doesn’t make it to the bout. But Hardy also likes Perry as Paul’s debut opponent in MMA.
“I think ultimately it’s the big-name fights,” Hardy told MMA Junkie of Paul. “I think there are fighters out there that are big enough names and they’re risky enough to make it an interesting fight, but of course they’re past their prime, they’re past their best. Having Jake Paul fight against the early pros, I don’t think there’s a great deal to be gained from that unless Jake Paul’s intention is to show people how difficult mixed martial arts is.”
He continued, “A Mike Perry would be a fun one. Someone like that. Someone who’s a bit of a wild man, a bit of a banger that’s gonna play into the skillset that Jake Paul’s already been developing whilst he works on his grappling skills.”
Paul also has been appointed as “head of fighter advocacy,” in which he’ll post about the PFL on social media. Although Paul will compete, Hardy believes he does a lot more on the promotional side.
“What Jake Paul does bring is a lot of eyes, a lot of attention and, you know, a very clever marketing mind,” Hardy said. “I can see him being an important broker for some very big pay-per-view fights for the PFL. And I think that ultimately is where his value comes in.
“People know that he can act like a middleman. He’s gonna have the fighters’ best interests at heart, because that’s what he’s been about kind of since he got into combat sports. I think he sees these big opportunities. He’s clever at marketing, and I think the PFL could use him very well to broker some big fights.”